Chai Tea Crumb Cake

Tea Cake Recipe – A tender cake infused with chai tea and chai spices, finished with a crumb topping and lightly spiced icing. Absolutely perfect with a cup of tea.

This Chai Tea Crumb Cake was created as part of a shop that has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are my own. 

One of my favorite things in the world? A cake that’s versatile enough to be served any time of day.

Breakfast…brunch…afternoon snack…post-dinner treat. Yes, yes, yes, and yes.

This cake will come to the rescue in any and all situations when you need something sweet, cozy and comforting. A combination of a spice cake and a crumb cake that’s filled with the warm flavors and spices of chai tea.

This cake is thick and tender with a crunchy, crumbly topping. It’s lightly spiced, perfectly sweet and it warms you from the inside out.

In order to get plenty of chai flavor into this cake I make a spice blend which gets put into the cake, the crumb topping, and the icing. To the cake batter, I also add milk that has been infused with Bigelow Vanilla Chai Tea.

Bigelow is my tea of choice not only for baking but for drinking, too. I always have tea in my pantry for the mid-afternoon push I need to get through the rest of my day.

My friends at Bigelow are building a Tea Proudly community. Use the hashtag #TeaProudly to share why you make tea your beverage of choice, when you drink it, who you share your tea moments with, and what special memories have been made over a warm cup of tea. Tea can be more than just a beverage. It connects people, invites conversation, and makes memories.

Make yourself a cup of tea and settle in; these big squares of soul-satisfying cake are filled with everything you need.

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Chai Tea Crumb Cake

A tender cake infused with chai tea and chai spices, finished with a crumb topping and lightly spiced icing.

5 from 8 votes

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Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Servings: 14

Calories: 502kcal

Author: Allison - Celebrating Sweets

Ingredients

Topping:

• ▢ 1 cup all purpose flour
• ▢ ⅓ cup light brown sugar
• ▢ ⅓ cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 2 ½ teaspoons chai spice, see note
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ cup unsalted butter, melted

Cake:

• ▢ 1 cup milk
• ▢ 4 Bigelow Vanilla Chai tea bags
• ▢ ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
• ▢ 1 ⅔ cups granulated sugar
• ▢ 3 large eggs
• ▢ 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• ▢ ¾ cup sour cream
• ▢ 3 ½ cups all purpose flour, see note
• ▢ 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 3 teaspoons chai spice, see note

Icing:

• ▢ 1 cup powdered sugar
• ▢ ½ teaspoon chai spice, see note
• ▢ 2-3 teaspoons milk

Instructions

Topping:

• In a small bowl, combine flour, sugars, chai spice and salt. Add melted butter and stir until combined. Set aside.

Cake:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13 pan and set aside.
• Place 1 cup milk in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat milk until it just begins to simmer, then remove from the heat and immediately add 4 tea bags. Set aside for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, continue with the cake.
• Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat butter and sugar for several minutes, until smooth and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, then vanilla extract. Add sour cream and beat until combined.
• In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and chai spice. 
• Once the milk and tea have steeped for 10 minutes, remove the tea bags, gently squeezing them into the milk to extract additional flavor. Discard the tea bags.
• To the butter mixture, alternate adding the dry ingredients and the chai milk, mixing well after each addition. I beat in ⅓ of the dry ingredients, ½ the milk, ⅓ dry ingredients, remaining milk, then the remaining dry ingredients. Once the batter is fully combined pour it into the prepared pan. Crumble the topping over the top of the batter, pressing some of it between your fingers to form clumps. Bake for 45-55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
• In a small bowl, stir together all the icing ingredients. Add more milk or powdered sugar, if necessary, to get your desired consistency. Allow the cake to cool slightly then drizzle the icing over the cake. Serve warm. 

Notes

Proper flour measuring: Use the measuring cup to fluff the flour. Scoop the flour (don't pack it in) and level it with the back of a knife. 

Chai spice: You can purchase this as a spice blend, or you can make your own by combining: 1 teaspoon cardamom, 1 teaspoon ground allspice, 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground cloves, and 3 teaspoons ground ginger. This will make more than what you will need for this recipe. Store it in your spice cabinet and use it for other recipes.

Nutrition

Calories: 502kcal | Carbohydrates: 74g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 89mg | Sodium: 221mg | Potassium: 160mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 42g | Vitamin A: 640IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 93mg | Iron: 2.3mg

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